The Yak-1 is a long-range fighter with a maximum range of 850 kilometers, and with the addition of fuel tanks, the range can exceed 1,000 kilometers, so that the Soviet Air Force can escort all the way to Moscow as long as it takes off from the border.

This is also the reason why they chose the Yak-1, which is the most representative aircraft selected by the Soviet Air Force from its own active aircraft, excellent flight performance, sufficient maximum speed, this is definitely the best escort aircraft.

However, they did not expect to be swept away by the Germans.

The Germans flew too high!

The Yak-1 does not pay much attention to high-altitude performance, and the maximum does not exceed 10,000 meters, which does not seem to be too much of a problem, because in the study of repeated combat missions in Germany, it can be found that the Luftwaffe has hardly ever flown at an altitude of more than 10,000 meters.

At the same time, Germany's proudest Atlantic airliner was not found to have flown more than 10,000 meters.

Now, people are flying at an altitude of more than 11,000 meters!

This escort was carried out by General Alexander Aleksandrovich Novikov, the most outstanding officer in the Soviet Air Force, and when he heard the words on the radio, he was stunned for a moment, and then reacted.

"Fly underneath each other until our new escort fleet arrives." He gave an order to the 11th Fighter Regiment, then turned to the people on the side and said: "Immediately mobilize the MiG-1 fighter unit, let them fly over Belarus, welcome the visit of the German fleet, and escort them!" ”

The pursuit of altitude is never-ending, the reason is too simple, as long as you can fly to this height, and the other side can't fly, then, you can fly freely, especially for bombers, it is quite important.

Then, at the same time, it is necessary to have fighters that can fly to such an altitude to intercept the opponent's bombers and ensure superiority.

The project of a high-altitude interceptor was launched a few years ago, and the design indicators of this aircraft are at an altitude of 7,000 meters with a maximum flight speed of 670 km / h and an altitude of 13,000 meters, using an AM-35A water-cooled engine with a power of 1,200 horsepower.

It's a pity that not enough attention has been paid to this project, after all, the most important thing now is to make up advanced fighters that can confront German fighters, not to engage in such high-altitude interceptors.

As a result, it was not until this year that this aircraft stumbled through test flights, and so far only about 20 units have been equipped with troops.

Fortunately, I finally have it, and if I didn't have this plane, I would have to be embarrassed all the way to Moscow!

With Novikov's order, the MiG-1 fighter unit of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment quickly entered the mission.

Captain Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, quickly ran to his plane, a brand new MiG-1 fighter.

Although his flying experience was not long, he graduated only last year, but the aviation school he studied was the most famous Soviet school named after A.Ф. Myasnikov in Kachin No. 1 Pilot School, after which he became one of the first pilots to fly the MiG-1 fighter because of his superb flying skills.

If you look at it from the outside, the MiG-1 is not pretty, the first half of this aircraft is occupied by long engines, and the pilot's cockpit is located in the middle and rear positions.

In this way, at the time of takeoff, nothing can be seen at all in front of the pilot, and the view is rather poor. In short, this is definitely not a good fighter to fly.

Having started the engine smoothly, Captain Pokryshkin gently pushed the throttle lever, released the brakes, and the MiG-1 was on the runway, sliding forward.

This aircraft is definitely not a good aircraft, in order for it to be able to fly higher, it is necessary to reduce the wing area, so that the MiG-1 has a high wing unit load, which leads to another problem, rather poor maneuverability.

Because the wing load is small, the climb is poor, and in order to achieve the aircraft's climb performance, the aircraft designers simply and brutally reduce the fuel load of the aircraft, which leads to its poor range.

With the engines in front taking up too much space, there wasn't much room for the fuel tank, and the wings were forward, which made the center of gravity of the aircraft rear, which made it quite difficult to roll the aircraft.

It can be said that this aircraft can be used to intercept high-altitude fighters, and if you use this kind of aircraft to confront enemy fighters, you will die a terrible death.

However, Pokryshkin used this fighter and its modified MiG-3 to create one miracle after another, which shows that the ultimate factor in determining the outcome of the battle is still people!

And now, Pokryshkin's first contact with the Luftwaffe came so suddenly.

Behind him, three other fighters, all of which took off one after another, did not mobilize more planes to be put into action immediately, but to carry out the task in batches.

The reason is very simple, just one wave of their planes, they can't complete the whole escort mission for the other side at all, their range is limited, and they need three waves of relay escort.

Although it sounds a bit embarrassing, at least they can achieve the escort mission, and not like their own brother troops who are now in the air, which is really embarrassing!

The German fleet was flying at an altitude of 12,000 meters, and below them, at an altitude of 10,000 meters, was the Yak-1 fleet of the Soviets.

"I really want to go down and say hello to the Soviets." The voice of a young pilot came over the radio: "Ask them, is this to escort us?" ”

"035, pay attention to discipline, we are carrying out the task of escorting the Führer's plane, if we violate discipline again, we will be directly expelled from the Air Force!" Heinz shouted over the radio.

The German army was invincible because of strict discipline, and it can be said that the rigor of the Germans was as famous as the romance of the French and the aristocracy of the British.

Heinz was also quite happy in his heart at this time, if it was possible, of course he would go down to say hello, but definitely not now, their task is to protect their own plane, and there can be no mistakes in this mission!

He looked down from the side of his fuselage, and the Soviets' fleet must be embarrassed at this time, right?

But soon, his naked eye caught a few more bright spots in the air, and those bright spots continued to rise in altitude as they flew in!

"Attention, protect the plane, 035, 036, go to intercept." Heinz shouted loudly over the radio: "Discern clearly, don't fire easily!" ”

Intuitively, Heinz thought that it must be the Soviets' new fighter plane, but they did not inform in advance, so they had to intercept it according to the preset plan!